1 » Carolinas triumph, while Anton Khudobin -- t

BALTIMORE - The Detroit Tigers can only hope a day off and a change of scenery will enable them to prolong a season in jeopardy of ending way sooner than they expected.Poised to tie their AL Division Series, Detroit gave away a three-run lead in the eighth inning Friday and lost to the Baltimore Orioles 7-6 to edge within one defeat of elimination.The Tigers trail 2-0 in the best-of-five series with Game 3 slated for Sunday in Detroit. Miguel Gonzalez starts against Detroits third straight Cy Young winner in David Price.As they packed their bags in the hushed clubhouse, the Tigers tried to stay positive in the wake of a bitter loss.Its certainly a little tough to swallow, manager Brad Ausmus said. When you have a three-run lead going into the last couple of innings, you feel like you should get the job done. But we didnt.Theres no place else to direct the blame except for the Detroit bullpen. After giving up the brunt of the damage during an eight-run eighth inning Thursday night in a 12-3 defeat, relievers Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria were completely ineffective in their bid to protect a 6-3 lead in this one.With one out, Chamberlain hit Adam Jones with a pitch and gave up a single to Nelson Cruz. Steve Pearce singled in a run, and the towel-waving, orange-clad fans among the sellout crowd of 48,058 sensed another comeback win by a team that won 10 games during the regular season during its final at-bat.Soria entered and walked J.J. Hardy to load the bases for Delmon Young, who delivered a three-run double into the left-field corner.We did it yesterday, weve been doing it all year against teams in our own division, Young said. So any time we have an opportunity and get guys on, we think we can win.Young went 10 for 20 as a pinch-hitter during the regular season. He also was the AL championship series MVP in 2012 a€” for the Tigers a€” when they swept the Yankees.The defeat left Detroits bid to reach the ALCS for a fourth straight year in serious jeopardy. The Tigers wasted home runs by J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos, along with a solid start by Justin Verlander.Were 0-2. We understand it, Ausmus said. It doesnt really affect us playing Game 3. If you win Game 3, you go on to Game 4.Rooted on by girlfriend Kate Upton, Verlander left in the sixth with a 5-3 lead. Unless the Tigers stage a comeback, it was his last outing of the season.This is frustrating. This isnt easy, he said. I dont think anybodys walking out of this clubhouse feeling great, but youve got to stay positive. We win two games and the pressure is squarely back on these guys.In the top of the eighth, baserunning was a key point. Miguel Cabrera was thrown out at the plate when he tried to score right behind Torii Hunter on Victor Martinezs double with no outs.I was watching the play develop and hoping they both would make it, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.Zach Britton got three straight outs for the save.Soria wound up with the loss, but Chamberlain took the blame.This one is on me. Theres no getting around it, he said. Obviously, if I dont put us in that situation, then were having a different conversation.Brad Brach got the win, getting two outs in the eighth after Kevin Gausman allowed one run and three hits in 3 2-3 innings.Detroit trailed 2-0 before peeling off five straight hits against Wei-Yin Chen. Hunter singled, Cabrera doubled and Victor Martinez delivered an RBI single.J.D. Martinez and Castellanos followed with consecutive home runs, the second day in a row that Detroits done it.Chen lasted only three more batters in his shortest outing since June 28 and left down 5-2.Baltimore got a run back in the bottom half with a two-out RBI single by Hardy, and the Orioles turned a 5-4-3 double play against Cabrera in the fifth that began with a diving stop by Ryan Flaherty.Nelson Cruz led off the sixth with a single to chase Verlander, and Anibal Sanchez held the lead through the seventh.After that, however, Detroits bullpen crumbled.Anytime you can go into the eighth inning winning by three like that, you have all the confidence in the world with Joba going out there, J.D. Martinez said. But unfortunately it just didnt happen today.The game started shortly after noon, and the boisterous crowd had plenty of enthusiasm left from the night before.The volume decreased, however, after Verlander began mowing down a potent lineup that one night earlier banged out 12 hits in a lopsided victory.He retired the first eight batters before Jonathan Schoop bounced a single up the middle. Nick Markakis then hit a 3-2 pitch off the roof of the grounds crew enclosure in right field.A replay confirmed the drive as a home run, ending Verlanders 32-inning scoreless streak in the ALDS. Markakis first homer off the right-hander in 50 career at-bats came on Verlanders 50th pitch.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: CF Rajai Davis (pelvic strain) was replaced in the fourth inning by a pinch-runner.It tightened up on him coming out of the box, Ausmus said.UP NEXTTigers: Price owns a lifetime record of 7-3 against the Orioles. Cruz is 7 for 19 (.368) with two homers against the left-hander.Orioles: Gonzalez will make his second career post-season start Sunday. Hes 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in three lifetime starts against Detroit. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . There were no real chances until Augsburg broke the deadlock through Raul Bobadilla in the 33rd minute. Frankfurt failed to clear a cross and Bobadilla slotted home from close range at the far post. Clearance Shoes Online Australia . Anderson is scheduled to have neck surgery April 8 to repair the injury, which occurred when he collided with the Celtics Gerald Wallace during a game in Boston on Jan. 3. The 6-foot-10 Pelicans forward, who had been averaging 19. http://www.shoescheapaustralia.com/ . "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way. Discount Shoes Australia . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Shoes Online Australia Discount . Hamels threw seven sharp innings to earn his 100th career victory, Domonic Brown had a career-best five RBIs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-1 on Saturday night to end a four-game losing streak.After 17 days of Olympic hockey, the NHL returns to action tonight with a make-up game between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes. And theres plenty of intrigue surrounding the game as all eyes are focused on what the Sabres may or may not do with goaltender Ryan Miller going into the trade deadline. Miller, who kept his habit of not talking to reporters after the game day skate, is in the final year of his contract and could opt to leave Buffalo via free agency over the summer. The 33-year-old served as backup to Jonathan Quick for Team USA in February and he could make the difference for a playoff hopeful team down the stretch. The rebuilding club is mulling over whether or not to deal the star netminder - or perhaps even re-sign him - before March 5. Like Miller, Sabres forward Steve Ott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent over the summer, and, unless Buffalo is able to sign Ott to an extension, his days in Buffalo could be numbered as well. "Obviously I told them I want to be here," Ott recently told his clubs official web site. "Well see where it all goes. Im professional enough to know the business side of things as well and what the situation is here as well. Well see how it all plays out in the next two weeks or so." Buffalo ended its pre-Olympic schedule on a four-game losing streak and it will try to halt that 0-4-0 stretch tonight. With its win last month in Buffalo, the Hurricanes have won two straight and four of their past five games in western New York. Carolina has claimed four in a row and five of six in the series overall. Buffalo is beginning a three-game homestand tonight, but that is hardly a consolation for a club that has lost eight straight as the host. All told, the Sabres are 9-17-5 as the home team this season.dddddddddddd The Sabres also will be in action on Wednesday night when they host the Boston Bruins. This contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 7 before wintry weather forced that meeting to be postponed until tonight. The clubs met once after that postponement when the Hurricanes notched a 5-3 win in Buffalo on Jan. 23. Alexander Semin had two goals in Carolinas triumph, while Anton Khudobin -- the NHLs First Star for January -- turned aside 26-of-29 shots. Khudobin could hold the key to getting Carolina back to the postseason for the first time since the spring of 2009. The 27-year-old Russian is turning heads in his first season in Raleigh and has clearly outplayed longtime No. 1 backstop Cam Ward in 2013-14. Khudobin entered the Olympic break with a 19-13-6 record, 2.14 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Ward, meanwhile, is 6-7-5 with a 3.15 GAA and .895 save percentage. Carolina enters tonight three points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, and Khudobin could make a positive difference for the club down the stretch. Although Khudobin helped the Canes win six of their last nine games before the break, the club did find itself on the losing end in three of its final five tests prior to the Olympics. "Its a restart button for everybody," said Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller of the time off. "Its a great opportunity for everyone to take a deep breath and use this break mentally and physically. Our goal is to make the playoffs, and were going to need everybody." Carolina was 2-2-0 on a four-game homestand that completed the teams pre- Olympics schedule and the club will emerge from the hiatus to begin a five- game road trip. The Hurricanes are just 11-10-4 as the visiting team this season. ' ' '